Floor dry material is used wherever oil, petroleum products, or other chemical substances are used and spilled. Historically floor dry materials have consisted of sawdust mixed with coal oil, mineral spirits, or other hydrocarbons capable of containing and/or absorbing to some extent the spilled substance. Commonly used in industry today as floor dry material, however, are products containing certain non-swelling clays or silica diatomite plankton (diatomaceous earth). These clay and diatomaceous earth floor dry products are typically in the form of pellets or granules which have been flashed dried in intense heat to create an outer pitrofied ceramic shell. The spilled oil or other substance attaches to the pitrofied shell of the clay or diatomaceous earth product thereby making removal of the spilled substance easier to accomplish. The pellets or granules can be scooped or shoveled up and deposited in containers for later disposal.
These clay and diatomaceous earth floor dry products, however, leave much to be desired. First, the "absorbability" (or, more appropriately, "attachability") of the products is dependent upon the level of pitrification of the granules or pellets. Considering the harsh, and somewhat uncontrollable, nature of the flash drying process, uniform results in pitrification (and therefore uniform absorbability) is almost impossible to obtain. Additionally, the clay or diatomaceous earth floor dry material does nothing to render spilled oil or petroleum product any more environmentally disposable than would be the oil itself. Ease in collection is the only real advantage of the pitrofied floor dry products. The problem of hydrocarbon disposal, made difficult by environmental regulations attendant to the disposal of hazardous substances, is still present. Moreover, as many floor dry materials are utilized in areas such as workshops and manufacturing facilities, the day or diatomaceous earth floor dry materials do nothing to eradicate the noxious odor associated with spilled petroleum substances and the like.
A more general problem regarding the disposability of waste products exists throughout this country and abroad in connection with the disposal of waste paper and waste cardboard. If placed in large quantities in landfills, waste paper degrades very, very slowly, particularly if disposed of in normal compacted form. The expense of shredding waste paper prior to disposal in a landfill has been too high to make it economically feasible to require all waste paper and waste cardboard to be shredded before disposal; and even if shredded, the shredded material becomes highly compacted, and, if covered with earth, it biodegrades very slowly.
For these reasons, there exists a need for an improved floor dry material that can be made employing a product, which within itself constitutes a waste disposal problem (waste paper), that improves not only the collectability but also the disposability of spilled petroleum substances, that has an increased absorbability as compared to clay or diatomaceous earth floor dry materials, that is fire retardant, and that aromatically neutralizes the odors associated with spilled petroleum substances. Further, there is a need for a floor dry material amenable to processes that reduce the hydrocarbons present in petroleum substances to a biodegradable product capable of easy and environmentally safe disposal.